Just North of Nothing by E.W. Farnsworth

Author:E.W. Farnsworth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: noir, organized crime, private eye, Arizona, corruption
Publisher: Zimbell House Publishing
Published: 2019-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Four Discreet Paths for a Mission

John Fulghum established his headquarters in the commons of the luxury suite of the Preserve. He, Sylvia and Darcy occupied three of the five rooms radiating from the commons area. This allowed them to meet for breakfasts in the commons and regroup at the end of their busy days late in the evenings to share their intelligence and plan the next day’s operations. The theory of space utilization was good, but in execution, each of the three went his or her own way. And when as a surprise Alia, Fulghum’s old friend and accomplice from his days in the sand, joined them on an ad hoc basis, they had no trouble adjusting physically, though psychologically the women had a lot to sort out.

The program of the Preserve was to offer as many amenities as each guest could enjoy. As Sylvia and Darcy were journalists, they naturally had to sample and write about every imaginable possibility. The only omission was falconry since the rules allowed houbara bustard hunters to be males exclusively. Darcy would not countenance such sexism, so she arranged to go into the desert disguised as a man with Fulghum. This solution made Sylvia jealous, so she had to have her fling at falconry in male attire as well. Finally, Alia, who was truly a sheika as her husband the sheik’s fourth wife, demanded her turn in the tent with the detective. This had to be managed carefully since the sheik’s first and second wives watched the fourth wife like hawks while they were awake and made copious notes about her movements so they could report to the sheik in the hope of gaining her a thrashing.

“Darcy, can you tell me whether you have completed your surveillance mission?”

“John, I have made all the equipment installations, but my surveillance mission is never-ending. I have logged my time with each of the vacationing families as you know. Having determined that the sheik from the UAE is our prime suspect, I have been forced to get closer to the sheik than I had intended. The man is insatiable even though he has four wives ... the theoretical maximum in Islam. I can well understand why Alia has her hands full bedding him and why his other wives need rest between times. I’ll have to be careful not to neglect the other royal families, and, of course, I’ll spend some time each night scouting the arsenal to determine any gaps in the guards’ routine so we can exploit them.”

“Darcy, I’ve tried to avoid burdening you with requirements beyond the essentials for your cover. Sylvia, are you satisfied with Darcy’s photographs?”

“Her work is impeccable. Whether day or night stills or action shots, she has everything we shall need for our article and more. She has been especially good at capturing facial expressions. I detect a masterful ability to detect aspects of a personality that might be useful to identify vulnerabilities of her subjects.”

Fulghum smiled. “I saw her trying to photograph a Gila monster last Tuesday.

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